Makena Dingwell
February 9th, 2011
Cause & Effect:
Conflict Diamond Trade
A Conflict Diamond is Forever
Since 1947, when engagement rings became widespread, diamonds have funded
an international industry worth over sixty-billon dollars (Blood Diamond Action). In the
early 20th century, De Beers, the most popular international diamond trading company,
conducted a legendary campaign entitled “A Diamond is Forever,” connecting the idea of
undying love to diamonds. When a couple purchases an engagement ring, the four Cs,
including clarity, color, cut and carat weight, are reviewed, but the fifth C is forgotten.
Various shades of conflict stain diamonds. Conflict diamonds produced in Africa by civil
wars and supported by international demand have dramatically affected the diamond
industry, spurring human rights abuses, corruption, and global consequences.
According to the United Nations, conflict diamonds, or blood diamonds,
“originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and
internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund military action in
opposition to those governments.”
By the 1980s, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Liberia,
Sierra Leone, and the Republic of Congo were involved in civil wars. Liberia and the
Democratic Republic of Congo were entangled with corrupt leaders and every country
faced opposition from a rebellion group. To fund their operations, revolutionary groups
took control of diamond mines, triggering the illegal trade of diamonds. Since
engagement rings have remained popular, the demand and funding for diamonds has
remained consistent for rebels.
In most of the listed countries, specifically in Sierra Leone, child labor was
enforced and human rights were abused. Rebels killed, threatened, and cut off the arms of
children and adults living and working in diamond villages until they could take control
of the local mines. The group moved to nearby villages, eventually terrorizing most of
Sierra Leone. Many people fled their homes in fear and 20,000 innocent people suffered
bodily mutilations, 75,000 were killed and two million fled Sierra Leone altogether (PBS
Online NewsHour).
Another consequence of the trade of conflict diamonds is the long-term damage to
development. Since illegal trade could be taxed, and the diamond industry is one of the
largest in Africa, most countries experienced a decline in tax revenue, causing a lack of
funding for basic services like education or police. Additionally, the revenue from
conflict diamonds encouraged corruption among government officials. For example,
Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, provided weapons for rebels in exchange
for diamonds (Diamond Facts).
The illegal African diamond trade caused ripples in the late 1990s to distant
countries like Brazil, Venezuela, and Burma. According to Brilliant Earth, Brazil is also a
hub for smuggled diamonds from Venezuela and Guyana. Reports state that Venezuela
halted their annual exportation of 150,000 carats of diamonds since 2005, which suggests
the continuation of smuggling to Brazil, Guyana, Hong Kong, the United States and
Belgium (Brilliant Earth). Lastly, the African diamond trade affected Burma, which
imports 90% of the world’s rubies. Burma notoriously violates hundreds of human rights
and does not provide healthy conditions for miners (Brilliant Earth).
To end the trade of conflict diamonds, the Kimberely Process Certification
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Scheme (KCPS) was established in 2002, the year the civil war in Sierra Leone ended.
Launched by the United Nations, the KCPS is a process to certify the origin of diamonds
in order to eliminate their influence in conflict. KCPS claims that 99.8% of the diamonds
today are conflict-free, although smuggled conflict diamonds can easily be passed off as
legitimate (Howstuffworks.com).
In the end, conflict diamonds became common due to aggressive civil wars and
consistent international demand. Demanding warlords prompted human rights violations,
development damage, corruption, the international spread of illegal diamonds, and the
political establishment of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Although the
hostility is far away, the unaware customer could be supporting the brutality.
Kanye West, a popular music artist sang in a song, “Though its thousands of miles
away/ Sierra Leone connects to what we go through today/ Over here [USA] it’s the drug
trade/ We die from drugs/ Over there [Sierra Leone] they die from what we buy from
drugs/ The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets.” Many people think of a diamond as a
symbol of love or beauty, not of suffering and violence, but local buyers could be funding
remote, but brutal wars. It is important to question the origins of a product since even the
consequences of a small diamond truly are forever.
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Works Cited
“Conflict Diamonds - DiamondFacts.org." Home - DiamondFacts.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 3
Feb. 2011. <http://www.diamondfacts.org/conflict/index.html>.
“Conflict Diamond Trade." Brilliant Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2011.
<www.brilliantearth.com/confict-diamond-trade/ >.
“Forever Diamonds - A History of Diamond Marketing." Gemnation Diamonds and Fine
Jewelry. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.gemnation.com/base?processor=getPage&pageName=forever_diamon
ds_2>.
“FRONTLINE: previous reports: transcripts: the diamond empire | PBS." PBS: Public
Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/programs/transcripts/1209.html>.
Hoyt, Alia. "How the African Diamond Trade Works." Howstuffworks. Discovery
Channel, 21 Apr. 2008. Web. 4 Feb. 2011. <www.howstuffworks.com/africandiamond-trade.htm >.
Shillington, Kevin. Encyclopedia of African history . New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005.
Print.
“The Effects of Conflict and Blood Diamonds | eHow.com." eHow | How To Do Just
About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.ehow.com/list_7326216_effects-conflict-blood-diamonds.html>.
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